Northwestern's penchant for nutty games...

I've covered many Northwestern games that ended absurdly. The 54-51 win over Michigan in 2000. The win at Minnesota on "Victory Right" the week before that. The Michigan game in 1996...the Iowa game in 2005...the Ohio State double overtime win in 2004...I'm sure I'm forgetting another half-dozen.

So many games with false finishes, premature celebrations, hearts rising into throats and then returning to their rightful place behind the rib cage...only to jump back into the throat a moment later.

I think the 2010 Outback Bowl just trumped them all.

Four hours and five minutes of insanity. Auburn had the game won how many times? Northwestern converted how many fourth downs to stay alive -- including a few when the Tigers committed penalties? How many official reviews to determine the game's next turn?

And then to end the game with an unproven redshirt freshman kicker on the field in place for his first career field-goal attempt -- and then trying to pull off an old Randy Walker trick play called "Fastball" in an effort to win the game in overtime? Unbelievable...unbelievable...unbelievable 100 times over.

If nothing else, Northwestern's 21 seniors have an incredible tale to share for the rest of their lives. If you must end your career with a loss, I suppose this is the way to do it.

Let's recap the seniors briefly:
1) QB Mike Kafka: He set the school's single-game records for completions (47), attempts (78), passing yards (532) and total offense (566 yards). He set personal-bests for TD passes (4) and interceptions (5). The latter number was especially amazing because he entered the Outback Bowl with 116 consecutive throws without a pick.

2) WR Zeke Markshausen: The Arlington Heights native ended his career 2 yards shy of the end zone on "Fastball," but the former walk-on left a deep impression on the record book. He delivered 12 catches for 84 yards against Auburn to finish with 91 catches for the season -- 3 shy of Richard Buchanan's record. Not bad for a guy who entered the year with 1 career catch.

3) WR Andrew Brewer: In addition to completing the 2-point conversion pass that sent the game into overtime (finally taking advantage of a play NU has had in its arsenal forever), Brewer caught 8 passes for 133 yards and 2 scores. That gave Brewer 9 TD catches for the year -- tying for second on NU's single-season chart -- and he had 57 grabs for 925 yards on the year.

Tight end Brendan Mitchell, who caught Brewer's 2-point pass, is the only other senior of note on the offensive side. As for the defense, the Wildcats are losing five starters.

1) S Brad Phillips: Someday, perhaps after his NFL fate is determined, he'll reveal all the injuries with which he played during his senior year. On Friday, he looked like he was hurting from the opening snap, yet he rarely came off the field. Just when Auburn was about to clinch the game with a first-down run, Phillips stripped the running back to give NU the ball one last time at its own 31 with 2:37 to go.

2) CB Sherrick McManis: In addition to recovering the fumble forced by Phillips, McManis delivered a diving interception late in the first half at NU's 6. I didn't see a lot of NU's Rose Bowl cornerbacks, but McManis is at least the program's best corner since that time.

3) S Brendan Smith: He played the entire season (well, the games he didn't miss due to a broken thumb) with a torn labrum in his hip. He goes down in history, for now, as the only Wildcat to play in three bowls.

4) DE Corey Wootton: Came on strong as his knee and ankle healed. He had 4 sacks in his last 6 games to finish with 19.5 sacks for his career. He set the school record with 49 career starts. He'll be the first Wildcat taken in the draft, perhaps as early as the late first round if he proves he's back to 100 percent at the NFL combine and several teams need 285-pound DEs.

5) DTs Adam Hahn and Marshall Thomas: Hahn rallied from a foot injury to start 7 of the last 8 games and 34 games for his career. Thomas, working a time-share with Hahn, started 6 regular-season games.

Maybe it's too soon after this game to catch a breath and think about the 2010 regular season, but Northwestern returns all five of its offensive linemen (three redshirt sophomores and two redshirt freshmen), all of its running backs and all of its linebackers. They'll have 8 offensive starters, six defensive starters and its specialist (the injured Stefan Demos) back.

Freshman Arby Fields will be the top returning rusher (82 carries, 302 yards, 5 TDs).
Sophomore Dan Persa will be the only returning QB who has played a snap (20 of 34, 224 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT).
Sophomore tight end Drake Dunsmore will be the top returning receiver (47 catches, 523 yards, 3 TDs), though junior Sidney Stewart also returns solid numbers (42 catches, 470 yards, 2 TDs).

LW